Maki Yoichi, Kawasaki Yayoi, Demiray Burcu, Janssen Steve M J
a Department of Psychology , Hokkaido University , Sapporo , Japan.
Memory. 2015;23(1):11-24. doi: 10.1080/09658211.2014.930153. Epub 2014 Jun 26.
The present study examined whether the three major functions of autobiographical memory observed in Western societies (i.e., directing-behaviour, social-bonding and self-continuity) also exist in an East Asian society. Two self-report measures were used to assess the autobiographical memory functions of Japanese men and women. Japanese young adults (N = 451, ages 17-28 years) first completed the original Thinking About Life Experiences (TALE) Questionnaire. They subsequently received three TALE items that represented memory functions and attempted to recall a specific instance of memory recall for each item. Confirmatory factor analyses on the TALE showed that the three functions were replicated in the current sample. However, Japanese participants reported lower levels of all three functions than American participants in a previous study. We also explored whether there was an effect of gender in this Japanese sample. Women reported higher levels of the self-continuity and social-bonding functions than men. Finally, participants recalled more specific instances of memory recall for the TALE items that had received higher ratings on the TALE, suggesting that the findings on the first measure were supported by the second measure. Results are discussed in relation to the functional approach to autobiographical memory in a cross-cultural context.
本研究考察了在西方社会观察到的自传体记忆的三个主要功能（即指导行为、社会联结和自我连续性）在东亚社会是否也存在。使用了两种自我报告测量方法来评估日本男性和女性的自传体记忆功能。日本年轻人（N = 451，年龄在17至28岁之间）首先完成了原始的《思考生活经历》（TALE）问卷。随后，他们收到了代表记忆功能的三个TALE项目，并试图为每个项目回忆一个特定的记忆实例。对TALE的验证性因素分析表明，这三个功能在当前样本中得到了重现。然而，在之前的一项研究中，日本参与者报告的这三个功能的水平均低于美国参与者。我们还探讨了在这个日本样本中是否存在性别效应。女性报告的自我连续性和社会联结功能水平高于男性。最后，参与者对在TALE上获得较高评分的TALE项目回忆起了更多具体的记忆实例，这表明第一种测量方法的结果得到了第二种测量方法的支持。研究结果在跨文化背景下与自传体记忆的功能方法相关进行了讨论。
